It's a good thing Jose Mourinho spent all that time learning the language. The Artist Formerly Known as the Special One had plenty to say this week, taking pops at the Italian press, Claudio Ranieri and even a man named "Barnetta", who may or may not be related to the Lecce coach Mario Beretta. Yesterday the Inter manager was rather more succinct. "Milan scored a goal and we didn't," uttered Mourinho after seeing his side beaten by a lone Ronaldinho goal in the season's first Derby della Madonnina. "That is the story of this match."

Very astute, Jose, though perhaps we could have done with a little more tactical insight from a man who accused Italian reporters of talking too much about managerial controversy and not enough about the "lack of quality" in their football. This before slating Ranieri's English and pointing out that he himself had studied Italian for five hours a night until totally fluent. As Luigi Garlando puts it in today's Gazzetta dello Sport: "Mourinho needs to worry more about the quality of his own team's game."

This was Inter's first serious test of the season and while the result should not be overblown – they lost the corresponding fixture last year, after all – they did not emerge from it well. Much has been made of Inter's new-look attacking trident but yesterday they looked about as sharp as an aeroplane spork against a defence that hadn't kept a clean sheet yet this season. On the flanks Ricardo Quaresma and Mancini persisted in charging down blind alleys until the latter was replaced by Adriano, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic did little to disprove his reputation as a big-game bottler.

Behind them Maicon, Patrick Vieira and Javier Zanetti kept the Nerazzurri driving forward, but were rarely incisive. Milan hardly dominated, but with Ronaldinho – restored to the starting line-up after Marco Borriello picked up a knock in midweek – and Kaká combining well behind Alexandre Pato, their attacks always carried greater menace.

"This is a clear and deserved reward for the choices of Ancelotti and his team, no longer defenceless and indefensible as they were after the first two defeats against Bologna and above all Genoa," trumpets Gazzetta's Alberto Cerruti. "Milan won because they played to win, while Inter gave the impression of waiting too much."

Mourinho felt 1-1 would have been a fairer scoreline, but the Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar made more and better saves than his Milan counterpart – and celebrity fascist – Christian Abbiati. If such a claim had any justification, it was only because of the refereeing decisions that went against Mourinho's team. Kaká appeared to be marginally offside before he delivered the cross for Milan's goal, while Mathieu Flamini was fortunate not to concede a penalty late on after clattering into Adriano elbow-first in the box.

Nicolás Burdisso will also feel hard done-by after his sending off – his first booking for pulling back Pato was soft – but he should have known better than to scythe down Kaká when already on a yellow. It's not yet known what Marco Materazzi said to get himself sent off. What is known is that most other players can be relied upon not to get sent off once they have already been substituted.

How much difference Burdisso's sending off made is open for debate, though Mourinho insists he had originally planned to introduce Mario Balotelli, rather than Dejan Stankovic, in the final 10 minutes. Ancelotti, certainly, had no time for such theoretical debates, stating simply that "Milan is cured". Ronaldinho, the seventh player to score for Milan already this season added that: "Milan needed some happiness and I came here for that reason."

But Milan weren't the only ones celebrating last night, as Lazio, fresh from a 3-1 win at Torino, toasted their return to the top of Serie A. "The surname Rossi is simple, the most common in Italy. Impossible to mangle it like Beretta, even for a foreigner," notes Luigi Garlando in today's Gazzetta. "Delio Rossi, manager of Lazio, leads Serie A, thanks to a goal from the milanista Ronaldinho against Mourinho's team. A Mr Rossi, bastion of normality, in the place of the Special One."

Round five talking points

• Despite having got Bologna promoted last year, and opened the season with a win at Milan, Daniele Arrigoni's job is reported to be under discussion after yesterday's 1-0 defeat to Napoli. Funny how quickly these things turn – Napoli's own Edy Reja was supposedly at risk coming into the season, but suddenly looks a lot more comfortable with his team sitting second and unbeaten after five games.

• Alberto Gilardino came up with one of the goals of the weekend to help Fiorentina beat Genoa1-0 on Saturday. He now has three Serie A goals in five games, as well as a Champions League brace against Lyon. The Viola are still struggling, but his personal revival is nevertheless remarkable.

• Signing Amauri was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle for Juventus, but while he has done well thus far, the rest of Claudio Ranieri's strike-force have gone awol. After Saturday's draw at Sampdoria, Juve have scored just four goals – their worst return from the first five games of a season since 1991-92, when they were playing under Giovanni Trapattoni.